Dantonio has 48. Jim Tressel won four Division I-AA titles at Youngstown State but notched his 100th I-A victory just last month.

"It's hard for those of us in the business to even comprehend (400)," Tressel said. "We always tell our kids: The hallmark of greatness is consistency. And his consistency has been mind-boggling."

One secret to Paterno's success is that rather than basking in his own accomplishments, he worries about what's best for his current players.

"I don't go home and think about what we've done," he said. "I worry about what we have to get done."

Penn State has won two straight after a dismal home loss to Illinois and an off week. Since then, the Nittany Lions have put up 31 points against Minnesota and 41 versus Michigan — the Big Ten's two worst defenses.

Paterno will become major college football's first 400-game winner Saturday if the Nittany Lions beat Northwestern.

Although NU coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday noted the similar skill sets of Nittany Lion quarterbacks Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin, it will be interesting to see who Paterno chooses to start.

McGloin played mistake-free Saturday against Michigan, completing 17 of 28 passes for 250 yards. Bolden didn't play after suffering a concussion a week earlier. The 83-year-old coach will wait to name a starter.

"Sometimes it's just a gut feeling when you get two kids as even as these two are," he said. "I've been a one-quarterback guy, but every once in a while, you say, 'Hey, maybe I'd be better off if we went with two.' "

Local knowledge: Paterno might not have a quarterback quandary now if his staff had aggressively pursued Dan Persa, the standout NU signal-caller who grew up a Penn State fan three hours from campus in Bethlehem, Pa.

"We probably should have been a little more aggressive in our approach to him," Paterno said. "I wish we had it to do over."

Persa is recovering well from the concussion he suffered Saturday at Indiana, with Fitzgerald saying he took 75 percent of his usual practice reps Tuesday.

This was not Persa's first concussion, his father told the Tribune on Tuesday. Dan Persa Sr. said his son took a blow to his helmet as a high school sophomore and the shot left him temporarily unable to recall certain colors and animals.

"From what I observed this time," the elder Persa said, "it was like night and day. When we spoke to him after the game, he was coherent and knew exactly what happened."

Shake on it: After Illinois scored its final points in a 44-10 victory over Purdue via a 15-yard touchdown pass — with just 1:36 to play — the school's coaches took part in an odd handshake. After a second or two, Illinois' Ron Zook tried to pull away, but Danny Hope would not let go.

"I know it looked kind of funny there on the Big Ten Network," Zook said.

Then Hope told reporters: "I would not have done it. If it makes him feel better about him and his team, call it, chuck it and run it up."

Zook reiterated Tuesday he was surprised with Hope's reaction because Hope had been complimentary in his on-field comments regarding Illinois' turnaround.

Besides, Purdue still was blitzing during the final series, and as Zook said, "Offensively, you do what the defense dictates you to do."

Hope downplayed the situation Tuesday but recalled that when he was at Eastern Kentucky, a backup quarterback "got cute" and completed a long touchdown pass during a blowout against a team whose coach he admired.

"I remember how bad it looked and how upset the other coach was," Hope said, "so I've always made sure the play-calling (in similar situations) is run-oriented."